Saman Rasoulpour
We have discussed the condition of other women’s rights activists with Parvin Ardalan, recipient of the prestigious Olof Palme prize. Parvin Ardalan tells Rooz, “Women and their movement for equality have been able to elevate the equality discourse to the level of public discourse, and that is not a small achievement.” Below is the text of this interview.
Rooz (R): Ms. Ardalan! About one thousand civil and political activists released a statement protesting the issuance of a 5-year prison and banishment sentence for Hana Abdi. Why is this verdict open to such criticism?
Parvin Ardalan (PA): As her attorney and other lawyers insist, Hana Abdi’s verdict does not conform to any legal standard. They have charged Hana with “participating in gathering and conspiring to disrupt national security,” but they have referenced articles related to “armed warfare with state” in her sentencing. In reality, 5-year imprisonment in a border town, for a 21-year old girl who is working hard to better women’s conditions, is really unjust.”
R: We have witnessed in recent years that women’s rights activists have been sentenced to prison terms to lashes, but Hana Abdi’s verdict was unusually harsh. Why do you think that is the case?
PA: In my opinion, the geographic positioning of areas where activists are present plays a significant role in swaying the verdicts, or in other words, determining the harshness of verdicts, and Kurdistan is a sensitive area. On the other hand, the more press coverage and outside support is present for activists, the more it is possible to support them. This is true not just about Kurdistan; we see many civil activists detained and receive heavy verdicts in other areas of Iran as well.
R: In addition to Hana and Roonak, Mahboubeh Karami has been detained for the past 12 days as well. Do you have any news of her condition?
PA: She is a member of the One Million Signatures campaign who was heavily beaten along with other women who were accidentally boarding a bus around Park Mellat, and continues to remain behind bars. They had beaten her so badly that her clothes were torn, and in a conversation she had with her family, she told them her body still bears the signs of the beating. As her attorney said, Mahboubeh Karami’s charges have not yet been communicated with her. In any case, she is perhaps in Evin’s female ward. We hope that she is released as soon as possible.
R: In the past one or two years, we have seen a great number of women’s rights activists summoned, arrested, detained or imprisoned. What does this wave of pressure on women activists signify?
PA: It shows the women’s powerful presence and the resistance and activism of activists in this movement for equality and expansion of demands to society’s various sectors. This wave would subside and, in return, a wave of resistance emerges. That wave would not subside, and resists pressure.
R: It seems like the regime does not distinguish between protesting men and protesting women, pressuring them all the same, whereas, in the past, we witnessed isolated instances of confronting and imprisoning women. Do you think the regime has passed that stage and is no longer worried about public backlash in this respect?
PA: In my opinion, even though if, in some areas, women are not considered to be citizens, they have been able to impose their citizenship status on the regime in their struggle for equal rights. Therefore, the regime can no longer refuse to acknowledge their citizenship status.
